By Tyler Dahlgren

Given the luxury of hindsight, it was pretty obvious the path Katy Dornbos was destined to travel-though it may not have always seemed like it.

Dornbos attended Lincoln Public Schools, where her fascination with science and all things unknown was ignited and then fostered under the tutelage of an array of esteemed educators. She loved to learn and welcomed a challenge, but what made Dornbos unique as a kid was her awareness and the appreciation that always seemed to follow.

“I just noticed teaching all through my life, from when I was in elementary school all the way through college and beyond,” said Dornbos. “It was something I found myself thinking about a lot. ‘This person’s such a good teacher.’ And I knew why.”

Two educators at Lincoln East, French teacher Karla Halpine and Chemistry teacher Dianne Epp, left their mark especially. Their impact is still present in Dornbos’s classroom today. After graduating from high school, though, Dornbos went off to college and elected to pursue a pre-med biology major.

“I liked science, and I liked people,” said Dornbos, who realized she preferred the relationship that a teacher has with a student opposed to the one a doctor has with a patient while shadowing the late and highly-revered Lincoln High science teacher Jim Rynearson. “Once I could articulate that, and once I talked with a lot of people about it, from mentors, bosses and teachers, I decided that was what I wanted to do. Thankfully, I had some very concrete examples of good teachers, and I could see myself doing what they did.”

She didn’t have to look far and wide for role models. Dornbos comes from a family of educators. Three of four grandparents taught. Her mom, sister, aunt and uncles did, too. Student teaching with Rynearson and Bob Curtright put an end to any doubt to what she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing.

“Looking back now, I could see all these people were placed in my life at just the right time,” Dornbos said. “They did such a good job paving the road, and they’re still people that I channel as I’m in the classroom.”

Whatever Dornbos is doing, whoever she’s channeling, it’s working. Fifteen years into a career teaching science, she’s spent the last dozen at Norris High School, where she teaches Advanced Chemistry and heads the science department. She still likes a challenge, and turning abstract ideas into something concrete for students fills her bucket like she suspected it might.

“Science is very relevant, but there’s also a lot that we have to imagine about it and I like that challenge,” she said. “It’s fascinating to engage with students’ imaginations. That’s really fun. To get them to believe in themselves and to grow their confidence in science is really rewarding.”

In January, Dornbos was selected by the National Science Foundation as a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), a prestigious honor that comes with a certificate from the President of The United States, a trip to Washington D.C., and a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.

In mid-January Dornbos was in her classroom teaching seventh period when an email came across informing her that she had been chosen as a recipient. She’d been notified that she was a state finalist for the award back in May of 2021, so she figured this message was spam. Turns out, the email was very real.

The wait was worth it.

“The first thing I did was tell one of my colleagues down the hall,” Dornbos said. “She had been with me along the whole process and was just really excited. I have learned so much about how to be a supportive colleague and what it means to be in someone’s corner through my career, and I feel very fortunate that my department and administration here have been that way for me.”

Dornbos considers herself a lifelong learner. She sees the parallels that exist between being a good scientist and being a good teacher. Both require innovation and flexibility and, perhaps most importantly, curiosity.

“It’s the responsibility of science to change its mind when there’s new evidence that comes up, and we have to be able to change our minds if it needs to happen,” she said. “It’s the same with education. There are things that I held to be true, and it wasn’t that they necessarily weren’t, it’s just that my vision was so narrow and I needed to see more and experience more and have people push back on what I was doing. So I do think there are parallels with lifelong learning and being able to make changes when they’re warranted.”

Not a day goes by where Dornbos isn’t amazed by one of her students. She’s far enough along in her career now to where former students from those first three years at Millard West and the last 12 at Norris are going off into the world and making an impact.

“I hear from them now and then, we’ll email back-and-forth, and it’s really wonderful,” Dornbos said. “They’re all over the world.”

The systems and curriculum in place at Norris beckons the creativity that’s become part of Dornbos’s reputation as a teacher. She has a good following on social media and brings an energy to the classroom that her Norris colleagues call infectious. She believes in her students and encourages their interests.

“It’s my belief that students want to excel, and they want to do something meaningful now as 15, 16, 17 and 18-year olds,” she said. “I don’t think it has to wait until you’re 22 to have those opportunities and experiences.”

Last fall, Norris partnered with Know Your Well and sent 56 dual credit students through the rural countryside around the school in Firth to test the community’s well water.

“It quickly got to the point where the students knew more than I did,” said Dornbos. “They’d have questions, and I’d say, ‘I don’t know, ask your peers. You guys know way more about this.’ It was neat to see it get to that point.”

Last spring, her STEM class designed and raised money for an outdoor learning space for the Norris campus. The students successfully presented their project to the school board, and construction was completed over the summer. Students at Norris High will get to enjoy the space for years to come, and that’s pretty cool to think about for the kids who got it done. 

For their teacher, it’s a source of pride. When she takes time to reflect, Dornbos realizes there’s quite a lot of those. The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is surely a special one, but it’s also a testament to all the people she’s been inspired by along the way.

“There’s been something to learn from every single person I’ve worked with, whether it’s their first semester teaching or if they’ve been teaching for 30 years.”

Q: Where can we find you when you’re not in the science lab?

A: Biking or just enjoying being outside. I like baking sourdough bread and traveling, whether it’s in the U.S. or abroad.

Q: Who is the best fictional teacher of all time?

A: Ms. Stacy from Anne of Green Gables.

Q: Best place to get a meal around your school?

A: If it’s Firth, it would be the Homestead Bakery & Cafe. In Lincoln, my favorite is MoMo Pizzeria.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: The Sound of Music

Q: How about a favorite musician?

A: Gregory Alan Isakov. I’ve seen him 10 times. I saw him in Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony. That was memorable.